Excerpts from NEA Resolutions Passed at the 2000 Convention in Chicago

VOL. 34, NO. 1

P.O. BOX 618, ALTON, ILLINOIS 62002

AUGUST 2000

NEA Fights to Maintain School Monopoly

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The federal antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft has
illustrated the evil of monopolies and the tactics that
monopolists use to maintain their power. But the biggest
monopoly in our midst, the public school system guarded
by the teachers unions, seems so far untouchable.

At its annual convention over the Fourth of July
weekend, the National Education Association flung down
the gauntlet in its war against school competition, a.k.a.
school choice. Meeting at McCormick Place in Chicago,
the delegates voted to impose a $5 a year increase in each
member's dues in order to raise $6 million to combat
vouchers and related ballot initiatives.

The NEA delegates approved numerous resolutions
and a legislative lobbying program to back up this very
political decision. In Resolution A-29, the NEA declares
that it "opposes all attempts to establish and/or implement"
voucher plans or tuition tax credits because they "undermine public education" and "reduce the support needed to
adequately fund public education."

The NEA knows how to sling the semantics. Resolution A-27 describes all the following as "Deleterious
Programs" that must be eliminated: "privatization, performance contracting, tax credits for tuition to private and
parochial schools, voucher plans (or funding formulas that
have the same effect as vouchers), planned program
budgeting systems (PPBS), and evaluations by private,
profit-making groups."

The NEA gives us a case study in how a monopoly
freezes out its competition. NEA Resolution A-10 states
that "closed public school buildings should be sold or
leased only to those organizations that do not provide direct
educational services to students and/or are not in direct
competition with public schools."

The NEA is also trying to restrict competition by
having NEA bureaucrats impose regulations on private
schools. Resolution A-2 states that "all schools must be
accredited under uniform standards established by the
appropriate agencies in collaboration with the NEA and its
affiliates."

Of course, the reason parents remove their children
from free government schools and take on the burden of
paying for private schooling is to get out from under the
phony "standards" set by "appropriate" union-controlled
government agencies.

The NEA feels particularly threatened by homeschooling, possibly because of the way homeschoolers have
outperformed public school students on national tests. The
long tentacles of the public school monopoly are trying to
erect barriers to keep homeschool competition excluded
from the market.

Resolution B-67 seeks regulations to forbid parents
from teaching their children unless they are "licensed by the
appropriate state education licensure agency" and use "a
curriculum approved by the state department of education."
The NEA even wants to forbid homeschooled students from
participating in any extra-curricular activities in the public
schools and wants to give the public schools sole authority
to determine credits earned toward graduation for students
entering or re-entering public schools.

The NEA fully realizes the importance of capturing its
customers at the youngest age possible. Resolution B-1
demands "mandatory kindergarten with compulsory attendance."

Resolution B-1 also states that "The National Education Association supports early childhood education
programs in the public schools for children from birth
through age eight." That's not a misprint; it does say "from
birth."

The NEA's monopoly extends not merely to funding
and "customers" but also to curriculum. The NEA wants
no interference from parents when it comes to teaching
children about sex.

Resolution B-38 states that the NEA believes "it is the
right of every individual to live in an environment of freely
available information and knowledge about sexuality." The
information, which the NEA demands be "freely available"
to every child at every age, is specified to include birth
control, "family planning," diversity of sexual orientation,
incest, and sexual harassment.

New Business Item 21 endorses another petition
campaign demanding that the University of California
Regents reverse the ban on affirmative action in the UC
system.

The NEA's legislative program for the 107th Congress
includes ratification of the United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), which would be a global Equal Rights
Amendment enforced by a global feminist commission, and
the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which would fulfill Hillary Clinton's
dream of having the "village" raise children instead of their
parents, also enforced by a global feminist commission.

In an effort to help the Democrats take back the
House, the NEA decided to spend most of its NEA-PAC
money, estimated to be $8 million, on 25 hotly contested
congressional races. It's no surprise that 89 percent of the
NEA delegates endorsed Al Gore for president.

Do We Need Campaign Finance Reform?
The Landmark Legal Foundation has filed complaints
with the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Election
Commission about the NEA's political activities financed
by its members' dues. These are all in addition to the
declared political expenditures from the NEA-PAC and its
state and local PACs.

Landmark's legal complaints, copiously documented
with dozens of exhibits from the NEA's own publications,
charge that "the NEA is spending substantial general
operating funds on taxable political activities, which it has
not reported on its tax returns for the last several years."
The NEA's Forms 990 show that, at least since 1994, the
NEA has entered a big zero in answer to question 81a
demanding "the amount of political expenditures, direct or
indirect."

Form 990 instructions make clear that "a political
expenditure is one intended to influence the selection,
nomination, election, or appointment" of any public
official. "Expenditure" includes not only direct contributions, but loans, in-kind support, "or anything of value"
such as personnel, equipment or supplies.

The other exhibits filed by Landmark consist of NEA
publications that effectively prove that, out of its general
association dues, the NEA has been doing all of the above
to elect its chosen candidates, but not reporting its expenditures as the law requires. The NEA has two powerful
incentives to avoid filling in line 81a: monies reported on
this line are taxable, and NEA members (who may be up to
half Republican) would find out that their dues money is
being spent to elect Clinton-Gore-type candidates and
would demand a refund, which they are entitled to under
the Supreme Court's Beck decision.

Landmark's exhibits include the NEA's series of "how
to" handbooks to train its members in "practical politics."
The NEA's political action manual instructs members how
to "elect pro-education candidates at the local, state and
national levels" so they can "more easily pass or defeat
legislative proposals."

The NEA handbook instructs members in "integrating
the structure" of the NEA with its various PACs by making
sure that all the PACs have a majority of NEA board
members to control how funds are spent.

Landmark's exhibits include the NEA's "Strategic
Plan and Budget." This document reveals the extraordinary
sums of money spent annually on politics from NEA dues:
$350,000 for "cyberspace advocacy systems ... in support
of ... candidates at the state and federal level," $386,000 for
"partnerships with political parties, campaign committees,
and political organizations," $540,000 for "candidate
recruitment ... early voting, and vote-by-mail programs in
order to strengthen support for pro-public education candidates," $350,000 for "training programs ... to support the
election of pro-public education candidates," $872,000 to
elect "pro-education candidates," $530,000 for "political
data systems" to assist state political programs.

Much of the NEA's political spending is concealed
under euphemisms: $2,517,701 was spent on "Government
Relations programs assistance to state affiliates" for
"candidate recruitment and recommendation; campaign
staff and support." An additional $792,422 was spent to
"secure member support for Association-endorsed candidates."

The NEA's UniServ program, with a budget of a
whopping $76.4 million for 1999-2000, enables the NEA to
select, train and fund at least one employee of each NEA
affiliate, called a UniServ director, in every congressional
district and linked to the NEA's 13,000 local affiliates.
This UniServ director manages the NEA staff dispatched to
assist with phone banks, door-to-door canvassing, absentee
vote programs, media development, and polling and
consulting services to elect NEA-endorsed candidates.

This NEA army of paid political organizers and
lobbyists far exceeds the combined staff of the Republican
and Democratic national committees. In addition, the NEA
exercises uncommon leverage over the Democratic Party,
controlling at least ten percent of the delegates to the
Democratic National Convention.

At last year's NEA convention, NEA president Bob
Chase congratulated NEA members for their role in
congressional elections. "We supported pro-public education stalwarts in the Democratic Party -- the folks who
have helped Bill Clinton," he said.

Excerpts from NEA Resolutions Passed at the 2000 Convention in Chicago
A-10. Use of Closed Public School Buildings. The
National Education Association believes that closed public
school buildings should be sold or leased only to those
organizations that do not provide direct educational services
to students and/or are not in direct competition with public
schools.

A-15. Financial Support of Public Education. Funds must
be provided for programs to alleviate race, gender, and sexual
orientation discrimination and to eliminate portrayal of race,
gender, and sexual orientation stereotypes in the public
schools. The Association opposes the use of public revenues
for private, parochial, or other nonpublic pre-K through 12
schools.

A-19. Undocumented Immigrants. The National Education
Association believes that, regardless of the immigration status
of students or their parents, every student has the right to a
free public education in an environment free from harassment.

A-26. Charter and Nontraditional Public School Options.
The Association believes that when concepts such as charter
schools and other nontraditional school options are proposed,
all affected public education employees must be directly
involved in the design, implementation, and governance of
these programs.

A-27. Deleterious Programs. The National Education
Association believes that the following programs and practices are detrimental to public education and must be eliminated: privatization, performance contracting, tax credits for
tuition to private and parochial schools, voucher plans (or
funding formulas that have the same effect as vouchers),
planned program budgeting systems (PPBS), and evaluations
by private, profit-making groups.

A-29. Voucher Plans and Tuition Tax Credits. The
National Education Association believes that voucher plans
and tuition tax credits or funding formulas that undermine
public education, reduce the support needed to adequately
fund public education, and have the potential for racial,
economic, and social segregation of students. The Association
opposes all attempts to establish and/or implement such plans.

New A. For-Profit Schools. The Association believes that
there is an inherent conflict between serving the needs of
children and of stockholders in an educational setting. The
Association therefore opposes education for profit.

B-1. Early Childhood Education. The National Education
Association supports early childhood education programs in
the public schools for children from birth through age eight.
The Association further believes that early childhood education programs should include a full continuum of services for
parents/guardians, and children, including child care, child
development, developmentally appropriate and diversity-based curricula, special education, and appropriate bias-free
screening devices. These programs must be available to all
children on an equal basis and should include mandatory
kindergarten with compulsory attendance.

B-7. Diversity. The National Education Association believes
that a diverse society enriches all individuals. Similarities
and differences among races, ethnicity, color, national origin,
language, geographic location, religion, gender, sexual
orientation, age, physical ability, size, occupation, and
marital, parental, or economic status form the fabric of a
society. The Association further believes in the importance of
observances, programs and curricula that accurately portray
and recognize the roles, contributions, cultures, and history of
these diverse groups and individuals.

B-9. Racism, Sexism, and Sexual Orientation Discrimination. The National Education Association believes in the
equality of all individuals. Discrimination and stereotyping
based on such factors as race, gender, immigration status,
physical disabilities, ethnicity, occupation, and sexual
orientation must be eliminated. Plans, activities, and programs
must

Integrate an accurate portrayal of the roles and
contributions of all groups throughout history across
the curriculum, particularly groups who have been
underrepresented historically

Eliminate subtle practices that favor the education of
one student over another on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, physical disabilities, or sexual orientation

Offer positive and diverse role models in our society
including the recruitment, hiring, and promotion of
diverse education employees in our public schools.
The Association encourages its affiliates to develop
and implement training programs on these matters.

B-30. Multicultural Education. Multicultural education
should promote the recognition of individual and group
differences and similarities in order to reduce racism, ethnic
prejudices, and discrimination.

B-31. Global Education. The Association believes that
global education increases respect for and awareness of the
earth and its people. Global education imparts information
about cultures and an appreciation of our interdependency in
sharing the world's resources to meet mutual human needs.

B-37. Family Life Education. The Association believes that
programs should be established for both students and parents/guardians and supported at all educational levels to
promote the development of self-esteem. The Association also
believes that education in these areas must be presented as
part of an anti-biased, culturally-sensitive program.

B-38. Sex Education. The Association recognizes that the
public school must assume an increasingly important role in
providing the instruction. Teachers and health professionals
must be legally protected from censorship and lawsuits. The
Association also believes that to facilitate the realization of
human potential, it is the right of every individual to live in an
environment of freely available information and knowledge
about sexuality and encourages affiliates and members to
support appropriately established sex education programs.
Such programs should include information on sexual abstinence, birth control and family planning, diversity of culture,
diversity of sexual orientation, parenting skills, prenatal care,
sexually transmitted diseases, incest, sexual abuse, sexual
harassment.

B-55. Standardized Testing of Students. The Association
opposes the use of standardized tests when --

Used as the criterion for the reduction or withholding
of any educational funding

Results are used to compare students, teachers,
programs, schools, communities, and states.

B-67. Home Schooling. The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs cannot provide
the student with a comprehensive education experience.
When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all
state requirements. Home schooling should be limited to the
children of the immediate family, with all expenses being
borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by
persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education
licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state
department of education should be used. The Association
also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

C-7. Child Care. The Association encourages school
districts and educational institutions to establish on-site child
care for preschoolers, students, the children of students, and
the children of staff members.

C-14. Extremist Groups. The National Education Association condemns the philosophy and practices of extremist
groups and urges active opposition to all such movements that
are inimical to the ideals of the Association.

C-22. Comprehensive School Health Programs and
Services. The National Education Association believes that
every child should have direct and confidential access to
comprehensive health, social, and psychological programs and
services. The Association believes schools should provide --

If deemed appropriate by local choice, family-planning counseling and access to birth control
methods with instruction in their use.

C-23. School Counseling Programs. The National Education Association believes that guidance and counseling
programs should be integrated into the entire education
system, pre-K through college.

C-31. Suicide Prevention Programs. The National Education Association believes that suicide prevention programs
including prevention, intervention, and postvention must be
developed and implemented. The Association urges its
affiliates to ensure that these programs are an integral part of
the school program.

E-3. Selection and Challenges of Materials and Teaching
Techniques. The Association deplores pre-publishing
censorship, book-burning crusades, and attempts to ban books
from school libraries/media centers and school curricula.

F-1. Nondiscriminatory Personnel Policies/Affirmative
Action. The National Education Association believes that
personnel policies and practices must guarantee that no person
be employed, retained, paid, dismissed, suspended, demoted,
transferred, or retired because of race, color, national origin,
cultural diversity, accent, religious beliefs, residence, physical
disability, political activities, professional association activity,
age, size, marital status, family relationship, gender, or sexual
orientation. Affirmative action plans and procedures that will
encourage active recruitment and employment of ethnic
minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and men in
under-represented education categories should be developed
and implemented.

H-1. The Education Employee as a Citizen. The Association urges its members to become politically involved and to
support the political action committees of the Association and
its affiliates.

H-7. National Health Care Policy. The Association supports
the adoption of a single-payer health care plan for all residents
of the United States, its territories, and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico.

H-11. Statehood for the District of Columbia. The National Education Association supports efforts to achieve
statehood for the District of Columbia.

I-2. International Court of Justice. The National Education
Association recognizes that the International Court of Justice
is one instrument to resolve international disputes peacefully.
The Association urges participation by the United States in
deliberations before the court.

I-12. Family Planning. The National Education Association
supports family planning, including the right to reproductive
freedom. The Association further urges the implementation of
community-operated, school-based family planning clinics
that will provide intensive counseling by trained personnel.

I-26. Freedom of Religion. The Association opposes the
imposition of sectarian practices in the public school. The
Association also opposes any federal legislation or mandate
that would require school districts to schedule a moment of
silence.

I-27. Gun-free Schools and the Regulation of Deadly
Weapons. The Association believes that strict proscriptive
regulations are necessary for the manufacture, importation,
distribution, sale and resale of handguns and ammunition
magazines.

I-46. English as the Official Language. The Association
believes that efforts to legislate English as the official language disregard cultural pluralism; deprive those in need of
education, social services, and employment; and must be
challenged.

I-49. Equal Opportunity for Women. The National Education Association believes that all persons, regardless of
gender, must have equal opportunity for employment, promotion, compensation (including equal pay for comparable
worth). The Association supports an amendment to the U.S.
Constitution (such as the Equal Rights Amendment) that
guarantees that equality of rights under the law shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state
because of gender. The Association endorses the use of
nonsexist language.

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